Victoria Police will be launching a new initiative across the state, focusing on issues that matter the most in local communities.
With Victoria seemingly over the worst of the pandemic, chief commissioner Shane Patton’s new Neighbourhood Policing model is now in place statewide after having been rolled out over the past year.
The new initiative will see police engage with the local community to strengthen relationships, share intelligence and find out what issues local residents care about most.
Police will work with local councils, community groups and government agencies when issues are more complex.
Other initiatives such as local safety committees and CommSafe forums are also being set up in each police service area so members can directly discuss issues with the public and other relevant organisations.
This focus on community policing has been helped by the return of protective services officers to most train stations and the renewed involvement of police with schools.
Victoria Police have also launched a new “community sentiment” survey today which will help gauge how safe people feel, any ideas they have on how to improve safety and how comfortable people feel approaching police and PSOs.
Chief commissioner Patton said while the pandemic took up a lot of the force’s focus over the past two years, it’s now time to “reset and reconnect with the community.”
“Our new back-to-basics approach is about making sure we’re listening to the community and tackling the issues they care about,” he said.
“Delivering on this commitment not only means we can get on top of issues before they become more serious but make people feel safe to go about their everyday business.”
